Kada Sárközi joined GPblog as an editor ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season. He graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in the UK and has covered Grands Prix and other F1 events live.
Max Verstappen hopes what happened in Malaysia was a lesson learned for Formula 1.
A software issue caused the race start procedure to be abandoned at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, as cars began to suddenly stop on track.
After the race, Verstappen explained that he was surprised when he and the other drivers first experienced what happened during the formation lap.
The Red Bull Racing driver began: "That’s the problem that we have. You know, these engines are so complicated and a lot of software is implemented. And, yeah, when there’s like some kind of... I want to call it... That’s the problem. And, yeah, I triggered it first and then I look in my mirror, I just see... I was like, “Wait, are they waiting for me or what’s going on...?"
Hamilton then jokingly added "It was like the Lego race," to which Verstappen replied: "Yeah, we had the same speed."
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Kimi Antonelli joined in the conversation as well. "Yeah, it was insane. At some point we were five-wide on the straight because we couldn’t understand what was going on."
"At some point we were five-wide on the straight because we couldn’t understand what was going on."- Kimi Antonelli
Verstappen hopes F1 would learn from this incident
Verstappen also saw Hamilton crawling alone on the circuit. Hamilton explained that he tackled the issue by restarting his car. "Well, I had to stop on track and stop the car and engine and restart it. I’ve never done that before.
Verstappen then drew his conclusion. "Yeah, what can you say? I mean, that’s not what you want, right, for the sport. Yeah, I hope there is a lesson learned."
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FIA delivers clear verdict on chances of Bahrain GP software issues returning
Speaking to GPblog, among others, FIA's Nikolas Tombazis also addressed the situation. The single-seater director said: "In some sectors the full power is reduced, and the triggering factor was some cars reaching a very low speed. I don't know exactly what speed that was, but some cars reaching this very low speed somehow entered into a loop which meant they couldn't re-accelerate. And then it looked as if they came to a stop."
He added: "We have every race a long debrief afterwards where we identify criticalities. Obviously, that was a major criticality and we need to make sure we avoid it. But can I guarantee it will never happen again? This specific problem, yes. A problem, no. But we will do our best to avoid it, of course.
“What we concentrated on was to get the show running again. The solution was a cobbled up, hurried solution. Now we need to go and analyse exactly and understand these factors.”
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